ABAKO

The Alliance of Bakongo (ABAKO) was a liberal-conservative political party in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, founded in 1955 by Joseph Kasa-Vubu. The ABAKO party represented the Bakongo people of the lower Congo, and they began calling for independence from Belgium in 1956, pushing until the Belgian Congo gained its independence in 1960. Kasa-Vubu became president, entering a coalition government with Congolese National Movement leader Patrice Lumumba. In 1965, the party was banned after Joseph-Desire Mobutu seized power.